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Addressing biosafety research’s ‘communication problem’
Tarragona, Spain is both a strange and fitting location to gather nearly 300 biotech researchers, regulators, NGOs and farmers from around the world. Strange in the sense that attendees of the 15th International Society for Biosafety Research (ISBR) symposium met…
Gene drives can be controlled, new modeling suggests
New scientific modeling suggests that gene drive technology can be controlled and kept from spreading unchecked when released into the environment. The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Journal, addresses a key concern with a technology that is seen to offer…
Gene-edited crops can boost global food security, researchers say
Gene editing can make a significant contribution to global food security, in part by improving the “orphan crops” that are locally important to good nutrition, according to an article in Science. Additionally, the agricultural advances that can be realized through CRISPR and other new plant breeding technologies (NPBTs) are crucial…
Genetically engineered animals face daunting regulatory process
As AquaBounty navigated an $80 million, 20-year effort to secure approval for its fast-growing salmon, the company knew it was pioneering a process for other animals developed through biotechnology. Its persistence paid off earlier this month when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally allowed the company to…
Will more genetically engineered foods be approved under the FDA’s new leadership?
The world of food and drug regulation was rocked earlier this month by the news of a change in leadership at the Food and Drug Administration. Commissioner Scott Gottlieb resigned and will step down in early April. His temporary replacement is Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute. As the…
Is a gene-edited animal a drug?
We eat mutations every day. All the vegetables, grains, fruits and meat humans consume as part of their diet is jam-packed with DNA speckled with mutations and beneficial variations. In 2017, the United States Food and Drug Administration proposed to regulate a specific subset of these variations as drugs: in particular,…
Biotech buzz: the week’s top stories
Bangladesh will approve Golden Rice Farmers in Bangladesh will soon be able to grow Golden Rice, according to Dr. Abdur Razzak, the nation’s agriculture minister. The vitamin A-enriched rice will be easier to cultivate in coastal areas with saline soils, he noted. Nigeria adopts its first GM food crop Nigeria…
Uganda to launch innovative gene-edited cassava research
African researchers are optimistic that gene editing will help solve the continent’s plant breeding challenges, especially the infestation of cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) that is ravaging the crop in Uganda and other East African countries. John Odipio, a scientist with Uganda’s National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCCRI) who is…
Petition seeks review of international policies banning biotech trees
A coalition of forest scientists and the Alliance for Science have launched a petition calling for an immediate review of international policies that are hindering research on the use of biotechnology to improve forest health. This petition is timed to highlight the release of a National Academy of Sciences report,…